On The Scary Edge of Your Breakthrough

On The Scary Edge of Your Breakthrough

Tuesday October 8, 2024

Hebrews 10:35-39 KJV

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. [36] For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. [37] For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. [38] Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. [39] But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Hebrews 10:35-39 NLT

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! [36] Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. [37] "For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. [38] And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away." [39] But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

Joshua 1:1-7 NLT

After the death of Moses the LORD's servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant. He said, [2] "Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. [3] I promise you what I promised Moses: 'Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you- [4] from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.' [5] No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. [6] "Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. [7] Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.

God sometimes puts us in scary positions to which we need to respond by faith. God requires us to face our fears.

1. Two metaphors… swelling tides and giants.

Fly fishing vs. trawling

Luke 5:4-5 LSB

And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” [5] Simon answered and said, “Master, we labored all night and caught nothing, but at Your word, I will let down the nets.”

Shallow waters are safe and fun, but they are unfruitful

Deeper waters are dangerous and scary, but they are very fruitful.

Shallow waters are for babies.

Deeper waters grow us, we learn quickly how to swim. 

2. Go Into the Deep With The Lord. 

Psalm 42:1-7 ESV

7 Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.

Christianity becomes boring if we stay in the shallow waters, when God has gone into deeper waters. 

When it’s time to move, all the helpers will fail and every comfort will flee. 

Abide With Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;

The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

3. When God goes deep, you will no longer find Him in the shallows. 

Deuteronomy 32:11 ESV

Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions,

God is shaking things up, but He will not let you fall. 

Those who insist on keeping  the familiar, same old things will miss God. 

4. Do not fear the rising tide. It’s meant for your good, not your hurt. 

Ezekiel 47:1-12 ESV

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. [2] Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. [3] Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. [4] Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. [5] Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. [6] And he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river. [7] As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. [8] And he said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. [9] And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. [10] Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. [11] But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. [12] And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

5. The giants are your welcome party.

How you see and treat your giants will make all the difference for you. 

• When the giants start getting bigger, it means you are getting closer to your breakthrough. The edge of your breakthrough will be the scariest place you will ever be. 

Two encounters with giants led to two different results.

Numbers 13:27-28 NLT

This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country-a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. [28] But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!

Numbers 14:1-4 NLT

Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. [2] Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. "If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!" they complained. [3] "Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" [4] Then they plotted among themselves, "Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!"

Numbers 14:20-22 NLT

Then the LORD said, "I will pardon them as you have requested. [21] But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD's glory, [22] not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.

• The children of Israel ran from their giants and in so doing,  failed to enter their promised land, at its very edge.

1 Samuel 17:48 NLT

As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.

• David ran to his giant and he entered into the national consciousness. That marked the beginning of his journey towards his destiny as the greatest king of Israel.

• Entering your promised land, getting your breakthrough,  is just the beginning of the journey towards your destiny. Your destiny will be discovered only when you get your breakthrough. Then your real journey begins. 

• You will have to face your giants. Your options are whether you face them on God’s terms, by faith, or you face them on their own terms, by fear.

The giants are your welcome party. Run to them. 

Hebrews 11:38 ESV

of whom the world was not worthy-wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.